Traveling has long been a passion of mine, as well as a healer. The opportunity to change your environment gives you the opportunity to change your perspective. It had been about seven years since I left the country to study in Australia, and it was about time to shift my angle once again.

With only a month to book tickets and brush up on local language and etiquette, I focused on nothing else. The hope that I'd get on that plane and return with an enlightened outlook is a traveler's dogma. Two ten-hour flights and I had arrived in Bangkok, an insanely familiar yet abruptly foreign city. With only one day to spend exploring, I headed to Chinatown. I wandered through the busy markets with a wide-eyed glare at each unusual piece of produce laid out for tourists and Thais alike. I barely had time to register my surroundings as motor bikes and quick feet whizzed by.

I walked down an uncluttered alley for a clear breath. There was a woman handing out bowls of soup from behind a food stall. I watched a steady stream of locals take their bowls, sit on small plastic stools, and top their meal with fresh bail and chili. This was it, this is where I was going to have my first meal in Thailand. I gave the woman 35 baht and she handed me a bowl of broth with noodles, bean sprouts, scallions, and something that tasted like chicken. I took a seat at the table and it instantly felt like a scene out of No Reservations. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of appreciation. I had made it to southeast Asia.